Deaf man gets help from furry friend
Thelma and Ron Goosman pose with Ron’s hearing service dog, Nickel. Ron holds an E-T issue published 13 years ago when details of his first hearing dog, Billy Bud, were reported.
January 7, 2013
By DONNIE BRYANT [email protected]
Though he is a citizen of Dublin, Ron Goosman is a bit of a celebrity in Stephenville.
“I never realized I knew so many people,” Ron said. “But everyone kept asking me what had happened to my other dog, Billy Bud, who was with me for 13 years.”
Ron was talking about his special service dog who had been his ears for more than a decade. Accustomed to seeing him with his Lhasa Apso, area residents were caught off guard when they saw him escorted by a new pedigree of hearing dog.
“I live in Dublin, but there’s a lot of people in Stephenville who recognized Billy Bud and me and have been asking me what happened to him,” Ron said. “Three people in Walmart stopped and asked me. I wanted to let people know I have a new hearing dog.”
After 13 years of loyal service, Billy Bud died in July 2011, which understandably hit Ron pretty hard. But May of the next year was to bring on a new era for him and his wife, Thelma, when a “puggle,” a hybrid of pug and beagle breeds, named Nickel was introduced to the family.
“We bonded pretty quickly,” Ron said. “I was tickled to death.”
Ron has only 95 percent of his hearing due to working around ear-damaging Air Force jet engines in the 1950s.
“I was with the fire department in the Air Force, stationed at Fort Biggs in El Paso when I started losing my hearing,” he said.
Egypt’s decision to block the Suez Canal by sinking 40 ships into its water stirred up further trouble in the Middle East. It was a catalyst that would lead to Ron’s hearing loss.
“We went on a two week alert and had to stand by with the jets for maintenance,” he explained. “We had to listen to the radio communication and didn’t have ear protection in those days.”
Ron, who has been trained to read lips, heard about the Dogs for the Deaf program that operates out of southern Oregon and was given Billy Bud in 1997. The dog was his companion until Billy Bud’s health began to fail.
Enter the puggle who has taken over the role faithfully served by his predecessor.
Nickel is not yet two, and he is an armful of youthful energy still undergoing some growth in maturity.
“He was not housebroken when we got him,” Thelma said. “He had lived in a kennel previously. But we trained him, and he has done very well.”
Nickel has a thick growth of auburn fur and a generous underbite.
“Do you know of a veterinarian orthodontist we could contact?” Ron joked.
What he might lack in dental aesthetics is unimportant when the magnitude of Nickel’s training is considered. Ron said the pooches undergo 5-7 months of intense training at the Dogs for the Deaf facility. The organization uses dogs from shelters who are between eight and 24 months old.
Though Nickel is a welcome addition to the Goosman family, Billy Bud still has a place in Ron’s heart. The former Air Force man carries a silver medal of a dog with angel wings on his keychain in his late friend’s honor. He will never forget his companion who provided him with so many years of loyal service.
“He helped to give me more freedom,” Ron said.
For more information about Dogs for the Deaf, visit http://www.dogsforthedeaf.org
Sara Vanden Berge is the managing editor of the Empire-Tribune. She can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @ETeditor.
SOURCE:
http://www.yourstephenvilletx.com/news/local/article_6462e51e-58f8-11e2-be4a-0019bb2963f4.html